- The Senior Level Quality Assurance Specialist's role is to write test plans and scripts for tracking defects and fixes in product development, software application development, information systems, and operations systems. The Senior QA Specialist will have 7+ years of applying proven analytical and problem-solving skills to help validate processes through careful testing in order to maximize the benefit of business investments.
- The successful candidate will write test plans and scripts for tracking defects and fixes in product development, software application development, information systems, and operations systems. They will apply proven analytical and problem-solving skills to help validate processes through careful testing in order to maximize the benefit of business investments.
Major Duties
Strategy and Planning:
- Participate in the Developing and establishing quality assurance measures and testing standards for new applications, products, and/or enhancements to existing applications throughout their development/product lifecycles.
- Provide feedback and recommendations, or alternatives that address existing and potential trouble areas in systems and projects across the organization.
Operational Management:
- Adhere to established Patterson QA standards for Quality Assurance Process and Methodology.
- Create and execute test plans and scripts that will determine optimal application performance according to specifications.
- Provide feedback on quality assurance standards as needed.
- Ensure that testing activities allow applications to meet business requirements and systems goals, fulfill end-user requirements, and identify existing or potential issues.
- Collaborate with software/systems personnel in application testing, such as system, unit, regression, load, and acceptance testing methods.
- Communicate test progress, test results, and other relevant information to project stakeholders and management.
- Test any new software to ensure integration into company systems meets functional requirements, system compliance, and technical specifications.
- Analyze formal test results in order to discover and report any defects, bugs, errors, configuration issues, and interoperability flaws.
- Participate in developing, distributing, and coordinating in-depth end-user reviews for modified and new systems or applications.
- Create quality test plan documentation that can be reviewed and utilized for other QA resources to direct test execution.
- Perform issue tracking, reporting and resolution of issues found during testing.
Critical Competencies
- Communication: Builds positive relationships, uses tact in sensitive situations; listens well to various points of view; relates well to others at all levels. Understands the importance of relationships to ensure team success; demonstrates compassion and understand; open to other view points in the interest of achieving best possible outcomes.
- Self-Management: Ability to prioritize time and tasks with little direction in order to complete work on schedule; organized and efficient; ability to bring order to complex and competing demands.
- Action Orientation: Takes initiative and action with a drive to achieve and be successful; seeks out challenging situations; encourages others with positive and energetic support and enthusiasm.
- Technical Expertise: Maintains technically relevant skills and demonstrates the ability to apply technical skills in solving business/technical problems.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness: Builds rapport quickly and easily; perceptive and adapts to situations, adjusting comments, emotional responses and non-verbal behaviors accordingly in order to demonstrate respect for the thoughts and feelings of others; remains authentic.
- Results Focused: Ability to define and create visibility around success metrics and how they will be measured; proactively seeks out progress updates from team members to ensure risk mitigation to defined success criteria; willingness to put forth the necessary effort to ensure challenges and obstacles are overcome and keep projects on track.
- Flexibility: Easily adapts to new methods and procedures; assists others embrace disruptions as opportunities for improvement; responds to change initiatives with positive outlook and energy.
Job Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in IT, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or area of functional responsibility preferred, or a combination of equivalent education and experience.
- 7+ years’ experience in the design, development, and implementation of quality assurance standards and software testing
- Strong knowledge of QA best practices and methodologies.
- Hands-on experience with ad hoc query programs, automated testing tools, and reporting software.
- Practical knowledge in importing data for use in report software, spreadsheets, graphs, and flow charts.
- Proven data analysis, data verification, and problem-solving abilities.
- Excellent understanding of the organization’s goals and objectives.
- Accept accountability and lead with integrity.
- Exercise best judgment on identifying the severity of issues.
- Demonstrate commitment to the quality of Patterson Products.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
- Ability to present ideas in user-friendly language.
- Highly self-motivated and directed, with keen attention to detail.
- Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Excellent PC skills and technically fluent in programming languages.
- Able to effectively prioritize tasks in a high-pressure environment.
- Strong customer service orientation.
- Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
- Experience with statistical reporting and analysis.
- Good project management skills and/or substantial exposure to project-based work structures
- Knowledge of SQL scripting practices.